The Center for Advancing Innovation Establishes Ambassador Program

The Center for Advancing Innovation Establishes Ambassador Program

BETHESDA, MD – 28 Jun, 2017 – The world’s largest virtual startup challenge-based accelerator, the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI), is launching an ambassador program. “CAI Ambassadors” will lead regional efforts to spin out startups and boost entrepreneurial platforms. CAI, a Maryland-based 501(c)(3) non-profit, has leveraged its award-winning, virtual challenge-accelerator program to deliver lessons from Wall Street and Silicon Valley to 2000+ entrepreneurs across the globe since 2013. From these efforts, which were recognized by the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Laboratory Consortium, CAI has launched 80+ companies and amplified 200+ entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Like its partner, the Silicon Valley-based Founder Institute, CAI understands that entrepreneurs and investors can come from anywhere in the world. Yet, outside of a few coastal cities in America, there are significant barriers to joining the startup community. To tear down these barriers and boost inclusion in the startup community, CAI is strengthening its connections with burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystems across the world by establishing the “Center for Advancing Innovation Ambassador Program”. Through the efforts of CAI Ambassadors, carefully selected from an applicant pool of industry experts and seasoned entrepreneurs, CAI will attract even more entrepreneurially-minded individuals from underserved areas, integrate them in the startup community, cultivate them in a more hands-on way, and maximize their global impact – computer not required.

To date, CAI has orchestrated four global startup competitions, called “challenges”: the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Breast Cancer Startup Challenge, Neuro Startup Challenge, and Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer competitions, as well as the SPACE RACE startup challenge featuring inventions from NASA. Also, CAI has launched and is running the Freedom from Cancer Startup Challenge; the challenge is launched with funding from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) and support from MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.

Rosemarie Truman, Founder and CEO, of the Center for Advancing Innovation said, “CAI seeks to further galvanize entrepreneurial ecosystems through a grassroots movement, led by entrepreneurs that have exited companies and become pillars of their local communities.”

For its initial launch, CAI will consider applications for up to 30 Ambassadors, who will operate in “districts” throughout the United States. CAI Ambassadors will work with the CAI leadership to draw district boundaries. Ambassadors will be rewarded based on the startups they create within their ecosystem. Ambassadors will organize the entrepreneurial ecosystem within their districts, enroll challenge participants and supporters, such as advisors, mentors, and judges, mentor teams during and after challenges, gain sponsorship, and recruit investors for challenge spin-outs. Compensation for CAI Ambassadors will come in the form of equity in CAI spin-outs from their respective districts. CAI spin-outs will capitalize on the continued guidance of CAI Ambassadors and other CAI partners, such as AngelSpan and Angel to Exit, who will be incentivized to serve as mentors and potentially investors in the local companies.

To apply to the Center for Advancing Ambassador Program, visit this link.

CAI will accept applications on a rolling basis. Challenge alumni, mentors, judges, advisors, and other interested parties are invited to apply.

About the Center for Advancing Innovation

The Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) is a global public-private partnership, non-profit focused on creating a virtuous circle of innovation and driving growth breakthroughs through novel, creative paradigms and models. CAI’s mission is to accelerate and increase the volume of research commercialization in support of high growth business to ignite entrepreneurship, bolster the global economy, and maximize the commercial and knowledge-based potential of promising inventions. CAI’s award-winning challenge-based accelerator, rigorous evidence-based due diligence, and capital-efficient lean management models serve to hyper-accelerate “gazelle” high-performing startups for outsized investor returns. Through its NIH-sponsored Breast Cancer Startup Challenge, Neuro Startup Challenge, and Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer competitions, as well as its NASA-supported SPACE RACE startup challenge, CAI has launched 58 startups and trained more than 2000 entrepreneurs. For additional information about CAI, please visit The Center For Advancing Innovation.